Entries in Fatal Car Crashes
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Jupiterimages/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- The number of Americans killed on roads last year fell to its lowest level in 60 years despite a jump in miles traveled, government officials announced Friday.

According to projections by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, traffic deaths declined to 32,788 in 2010, marking a three percent drop from the previous year and the lowest number of fatalities since 1949. Moreover, since 2005, the total number of deaths has dropped by 25 percent.

The drop came even as Americans drove further in 2010, tacking on close to 21 billion more miles on their odometers than they did the year before, the NHTSA said.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the decrease in traffic deaths comes in part because more people are buckling up.

"We've had a very strong Click It or Ticket campaign for 20 years where we have persuaded 85 percent of the people to buckle up," LaHood told ABC News.

Yet the secretary declared "we can't rest on our laurels" since over 30,00 people still died, and pledged the government will remain vigilant about stopping traffic deaths.﻿

Photo Courtesy - Getty Images(ITASCA, Ill.) -- The number of fatal car crashes resulting from running red lights at intersections is going down, according to a new study released Thursday by the National Safety Council.

Analyzing data from all 50 states and Washington, D.C., the study found that fatal, red-light running crashes at intersections went down by 27 percent between 2005 and 2009. This reduction also coincides with one in the number of fatal crashes at intersections with traffic lights, which decreased by 17 percent during the same time period.

The analysis does say, however, that the number of non-fatal crashes entering and leaving intersections is slowly increasing, mostly by rear end collisions -- a possible indication drivers are slamming on brakes to avoid running the light.﻿